Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu.
If you are the only living being in the world, can humanity exist?
Two people are walking towards each other on a hot, dusty morning.
‘Sawa bona’ says the first – ‘I see you.’
‘Sikhona,’ replies the second – ‘I am here.’
And with this simple exchange, they bring each other into existence.
Because people are only people through other people.
The above anecdote from Steve Lundin and Bob Nelson’s book is a useful primer to the notion of Ubuntu—the belief that “I am who I am because of who we are.” It embraces the concepts of human dignity and universal respect for others.
Ubuntu is a South African concept. It’s not just a theory to live by or a humanist philosophy benefitting communities; it can be applied to business and project management too.
An introduction to Ubuntu
The concept of Ubuntu emphasizes community and the heart of a person’s humanity beating only in relation to other people. Humanity and dignity don’t exist in a vacuum.
It makes sense that a community-based philosophy would emerge from a land where tribal affiliations are still important. Even though South Africa is now a democracy with an elected president and a parliament, our relatively new Constitution hasn’t obliterated tribal and traditional culture. Instead, it recognizes and embraces it.
This means that you can still find the Zulu King if you visit the province of Kwazulu Natal. And you can find various other tribal leaders around the country all tending to their communities in conjunction with more formal government structures.
But how do you merge an ancient tribal system with a modern democracy? Ubuntu is one piece of the puzzle. What used to be an unwritten value is now incorporated by the South African courts to legitimize the laws of the land.
South Africa is a country that’s sadly known for its history of racist apartheid. But we’re also known as the young democracy born under the leadership of the late Nelson Mandela. Mandela, when brokering the deal for a new, desegregated and democratic South Africa, understood this legacy. Moving forward and trying to heal the divisions of our racially divided past, Mandela chose forgiveness and peace over civil war and chaos. In managing the huge project of moving our country to democracy, embracing Ubuntu allowed for the notion of a whole, undivided society.
Past laws existing under the apartheid regime were so divisive and repressive that the new democratic judiciary adopted the concept of Ubuntu as part of its new judicial philosophy. This is how Ubuntu spread beyond local tribes and found expression in some of the most ground-breaking court cases in the country.
Now, more than 20 years later, the cracks in our society are starting to show, arguably due to unfinished business from the past, but also, I believe, because we have leaders who are money grubbers, not interested in Ubuntu but only in themselves—when we lose sight of the collective, things fall apart.
Similarly, in business, a company focused on its people and based on the principles of Ubuntu has the potential to go far. But just as a society can start to crumble when leaders focus only on themselves, corporations can lose their footing when the focus moves away from the people and to the bottom line.
But let’s go back a bit and review a little history before we dive into the ways Ubuntu can be applied to project management.
A company focused on its people and based on the principles of Ubuntu has the potential to go far.
What was apartheid South Africa?
Basically, the ruling class in South Africa was made up of a minority of the population, about 10%. These were white people who had come as colonizers from Britain or as settlers from Germany. Apart from being blatantly racist on a personal level, they also codified segregation, passing oppressive laws and subjugating the non-white majority of the population.
New laws included a ban on interracial marriage, a division of land reserving the best areas for white people and banishing the black majority to the “homelands” (a small fraction of the land on the outskirts of the country), and legislated education systems ensuring that different races received different types of education—education for non-whites was aimed at making them “hewers of wood and drawers of water” (basically servants to white masters).
After years of struggle, the majority was victorious in negotiating an end to apartheid and the dawn of a new democratic era. We averted civil war and instead opted for reconciliation.
In dismantling apartheid’s legacy, we also needed to fill in some of the gaps in our country’s social and moral fabric. The concept of Ubuntu became a part of this, a concept we embraced in order to build a new, integrated society.
Ubuntu in society
No man or woman is an island. There are very few of us who can truly be lone rangers. Communities form for a reason, and there’s value in community. For South Africa, the western concept of a nuclear family is insufficient to encompass Ubuntu; extended family members, neighbours, family friends, and tribes are all included in this different concept of community. Who would you help if they came knocking on your door? Your mother? Your brother? Okay. How about your neighbour’s niece? That guy at the corner shop who once gave you a discount on milk when you didn’t have enough cash? Would you help them too?
Patterns similar to Ubuntu can also be seen in countries like India and China where individuals continually strive to uplift their families and communities, even from thousands of miles away. A huge amount of remittances is sent from workers around the world back to their families in India and China.
I’ve read so much about western society’s problems of isolation, the search for meaning and connection. What if we embraced the fundamental concept of community and its importance? Perhaps embracing the needs of other people is necessary in order to be truly human. If you were to leave your hometown to find better opportunities across the sea, would you remember those you left behind? Would you actively support them, at your own cost, even when so far removed?
As non-white South Africans struggle to clamber out of poverty, heightened by the historical legacy of apartheid policies, many up-and-coming young workers pay it forward (or pay it backward) by supporting extended families who rely heavily on their monthly contributions. If you were raised by an aunt who cobbled together whatever she could to put you through school, it seems only fitting that you contribute to her expenses when you can.
This concept of caring for extended family members is prevalent in South African culture and is another iteration of Ubuntu. The community is important—getting a fancy job and moving to the city doesn’t mean that you forget your community. While this may put a strain on people entering the workforce, it’s an important factor in the spread of wealth and the redistribution of resources in a country where the majority of the population were subjugated and denied opportunities for decades. These young workers bring this sense of community and Ubuntu to the workplace which helps spread the notion that we aren’t meant to be pursuing a solo race to the top.
The African view of personhood rejects the notion that a person is identified in terms of physical and psychological features. Ubuntu is the basis of African communal cultural life. It expresses the interconnectedness, common humanity, and the responsibility of individuals to each other.
Ubuntu in business
The old proverb goes: if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Is this proverb even African? Who knows. But in the context of Ubuntu, it sticks.
Do companies really have no soul to damn and no body to kick? If not, where does the culture of a corporation come from? It comes from the people—the soul and body of each and every company.
Ubuntu is a people-centred philosophy. The Ubuntu philosophy holds that if people are treated well, they are likely to perform better. As such, the philosophy of Ubuntu can play a role in corporate culture-building and in performance management.
In a business setting, there are at least three levels in which Ubuntu thinking can affect culture: it can be practiced by leaders, it can be practiced by the project team, and it can be practiced by the community at large.
Level 1
Leaders, empathy, respect, and dignity
As a manager or leader, you can adopt Ubuntu vibes by realizing that your employees, subordinates, and team members are more than mere cogs in the machine. Finding ways to incorporate empathy, dignity, and respect into your leadership style and core values shows your team that you care. Each team member is valuable: each individual affects the whole, and the whole affects the individual. No one gets left behind.
Instead of criticizing perceived slackers or yelling at your juniors, seek first to understand, then make your point (if it’s still valid). Maybe you’re wondering why that employee is always late. Well, sniping behind her back helps no one. If you care enough to find out the reasons for someone’s behaviour, you may be surprised (and you may actually be able to help).
Perhaps she has to attend to a sick relative before coming to the office. Maybe she takes two different taxis to commute over an hour each morning to get to work. It could be that she just works better later in the day, and would benefit from a flexible work arrangement that suits her night-owl tendencies. Whatever the reason, that new understanding creates opportunities for leaders, project teams, and colleagues to offer support, to address work/life balance, or to shift the social norms of when and where work happens so people can bring their best selves to the job.
If an employee doesn’t seem happy in their role, you could try finding out if they’re passionate about another area of the business, or are interested in a new role altogether. You could allow people to become intrapreneurs within the firm. Otherwise, you risk losing valuable employees because you simply failed to empathize with them.
Level 2
Teams, trust, and interdependence
Wherever possible, team members should be encouraged to build trust and interdependence. Instead of vying to beat someone to the top, try getting there together. Project leads can incentivize teamwork, not solo escapades.
Some law firms, for example, measure productivity based on team budgets and deliverables, and not solely on the billable hours of each employee. This encourages spreading work across a team, developing junior members, and better-leveraging everyone’s strengths (instead of a culture where each person tries to hoard and bill for every bit of work that comes their way).
I once heard of a guy who “stole” a colleague’s time right off of her timesheet in an attempt to meet his own goals. This is no way to work sustainably and amicably. On the other hand, I know of bosses who happily share their client-base with their juniors, confident in the fact that the team will work together more effectively as a unit.
It also helps take the pressure off when you know that you have a well-trained colleague, fluent in your style of work, ready to step in and lend a hand whenever you need some time off, or some extra help. Stockpiling accolades and clients is a never-ending race; sharing the work and the glory allows room for everyone to breathe and live.
Ryan Holiday says that the best way to the top is to make other people look good—to “find canvases for other people to paint on.” Practice acting selflessly rather than to get a leg up. Encourage your project teams to find the value in each other. Practice Ubuntu.
Level 3
Community, loyalty, and support
Empathy and flexibility are useful tools in the Ubuntu toolbox. Companies that acknowledge that their employees have lives and responsibilities beyond the office benefit from an enhanced corporate culture. They create an extended family of employees while increasing loyalty and job satisfaction.
Examples of company-wide Ubuntu values abound. There are corporate initiatives to extend education programs to the dependants of employees. Some businesses help fund the education of their workers’ loved ones. Housing assistance programs foster a sense of community beyond the office walls, offering employees valuable support in their personal lives as well.
If you treat your team like a village where everyone is part of the solution—where everyone is valued and valuable—you’ll receive dedication and hard work in return. Everyone will have your back. And you may just have the makings of a great corporate family.
Will you embrace Ubuntu in your team?
“People are only people through other people.” No matter what your role is, you can strive to bring the principles of Ubuntu to your company and your project teams.
Welcome everyone into the circle and you’ll create space for those who need it. Invite the quiet person into the discussion and you may uncover a gem. When dealing with your colleagues, don’t merely look at them, see them.
Remember: umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu.
